Arm-rest



(NoModl.)

E. A. BENNETT.

ARM REST,

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UNiTsn STATES PATENT @Trina EDVARD ALBERT BENNETT, OF WESTON, VEST VIRGINIA.

ARM-REST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 349,974, dated September 28, 1886.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD ALBERT BEN- NETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Weston, in the county of Lewis and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Arm-Rests, of which the following is a specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has relation to improvements in arm-rests; and it consists of the peculiar construction and combination of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The object of my invention is to provide an arm-rest which can be adj usted vertically, so as to bring the hand of the writer or user on a plane with the page of the book on which it is desired to write, to provide means which can be easily and quickly operated to adjust the device, and to combine simplicity with strength, lightness, and durability of construction, thorough effectiveness, and ease of operation, and cheapness of manufacture.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of an arm-rest constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing the device elevated. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line a: x of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the stop-blocks D in horizontal section in the position which they occupy when they are turned to a vertical position, the swinging leaf I being shown in full lines folded beneath the adjustable board and unfolded or extended beyond the adjustable board in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, A designates my improved arm-rest, comprising a base, B, a vertically-adjustable board, O, on which the arm of the user rests, hinged supporting -blocks D E, a rack, F, a pivoted pawl,G, and an operating-handle, H, the peculiar arrangement and construction of which will be presently described in detail. The supporting-blocks D E are preferably arrangedin pairs at or near each end of the base B and adjustable board C, and a short dis tance from each other at or near the side edges of said boards. The block ofeach pair is provided with hinges d e on opposite sides, and the upper and lower ends of each block are made plane, so that they rest and bear against the base and adjustable board when they lie or assume a vertical position, so that they serve as stops to limit the upward movement of the adjustable board C. The hinge d of each block is arranged at the lower end and on one face of the block, and is secured to the base B and the block, and the hinge c is arranged on the opposite face at the upper end of the block and is secured thereto and to the adjustable arm-rest board C. Each of the blocks D E are provided with this peculiar arrangement of hinges, and said hinges permit the vertically-adjustable board G to move in one direction only, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. l. Thus, when it is desired to adj ust the-board C vertically to bring it on a level with the page of the book, the board is moved either to the right or left to lower or raise it, and when the supportingblocks assume a vertical position the edges thereof are brought in contact with the base and adjustable board and serve to limit the upward or further movement of the adjustable board. The rack F is secured to the base-board at or near the middle and extends longitudinally thereof. The pawl G is adapted to engage one of the series of teeth of the rack-bar to adjust and hold the board C to any desired position; and said pawl is rigidly secured to a shaft, G', loosely journaled in bearings or boxes g. These bearings g cornprise perforated plates, which are secured by pins or screws to the inner adjacent faces of the hinged supporting-blocks E, and said bearing-plates g are made vertically adjustable either up or down, so asto vary the angle at which the pawl enters or engages the teeth of the rack, the pins or screws that hold said bearing-plates fitting in two of a series of apertures or openings, g, on the inner vertical faces of the blocks E. (See Fig. 3.) The pivoted pawl G has a handle bar or shaft, H, rigidly secured thereto and extending at right angles therefrom to a point near the outer edges of the base B and adjustable board C, said handle bar or shaft having a cross-bar or handle, h, for its convenient manipulation.

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When it is desired to depress or lower the adj ustable board C, the handle-bar H is grasped and the shaft or bar turned so as to elevate the pawl from engagement with the rack, and when inthis position the board() can be lowered to any desired plane or adjustment, after which the pawl is again engaged with one of vthe teeth of the rack.

Io elevate the adjustable board, it is only necessary to raise or force the board upwardly, and allow the pivoted pawl to slip over the teeth of the rack F; or the pawl may be elevated out of engagement with the rack until the board has attained the desired elevation, when it (the pawl) is again engaged with the rack tol hold the vertically-adjustable board at its elevated position.

By means of the hinged supporting-blocks, i

the adjustable board is maintained in a parallel plane with the base at all points of its elevation, and said blocks provide a firm and secure bearing or support for the said adjustable board.

The upper adjustable board G of my improved arm-rest carries an extensible leaf and support, I, at one end. The leaf or support is arranged on the under surface of the adjustable board C, and it is pivoted thereto, as at z'. rIhe leaf is adapted to be folded beneath the adjustable board, so that it is wholly concealed from view when it is desired to use the leaf, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, and it can be extended or projected beyond the board C and at right angles thereto, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The extensible swinging leaf I is provided at its pivoted end with a projecting portion, fi', through which passes the pivot i, to attach the leaf to the adjustable board of the arm-rest. This projecting portion 'i' is arranged at the middle of the extensible leaf, and has shoulders i2 on opposite sides, one of the shoulders coming in contact with the stop-pin 3, to limit the inward folding movement of the leaf I, so that it is retained at or near the free edge of the adjustable board by which it is carried, and can be easily grasped by the operator to extend it beyond the adjustable board for use. When the arm-rest is folded for storage or transpor` tation, the pawl is elevated or released from the rack, the swinging stop-blocks D and E lie fiat upon the base, and the adjustable board lies or bears against4 the stop-blocks, and the inward movement of the swinging leaf I will be limited by one of the shoulders coming in contact with the stop-pin, whereby it is retained in its proper position, as de scribed.

Asis well known to accountants and others accustomed to writing in large ledgers and other books of record and the like, it is exceedingly inconvenient to write in the iirst and last part of the book when opening and closing the book, owing to the fact that the leaves are in an inclined position beneath the body or larger part of the book; and `to overj 'Ihe device may be made of various sizes,

and finished in any preferred manner to suit the requirements of the trade and purchaser, and various slight changes in the form and proportion of parts can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In order to define the nature and scope of my invention, I would state that heretofore it has been proposed to provide an arm-rest comprising a base-board having two racks and a vertically-adjustable board hinged to the base-board by means of straps or rods that are pivotally connected to the staples of said base and adjustable boards, and the latter board has two pawls that are pivotally connected thereto directly and are adapted to engage the pawls to hold the adjustable board at any desired elevation. In this device the hinging straps or rods do not limit the upward movement of the adjustable board, and in my improved device the hinging-blocks are so disposed that they not only limit the 9 upward movement of the adjustable board,

but also provide a rm and strong and steady support when the board is adjusted to its highest elevation. I also provide an outwardly-extending arm, that is rconnected to the retaining-pawl, `and this arm terminates roc at a point near one of the outer edges of the arm-rest,to enable the writer to readily operate the pawl to elevate or depress the adjustable board without inserting his "hand beneath the'board to grasp the pawl.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isj 1. As an `article of manufacture,an armrest comprising a base, an adjustable board, supporting-blocks hinged to the base and adjustable boards, a rack-bar secured to the base-board, a pawl rigidly secured on a shaft, vertically-adjustable bearings for said pawlshaft secured to one of the bearing-blocks, and an operating-handle secured to the pawl and extending outwardly therefrom, substanti ally as described.

2. In an arm-rest', the combination of a base, a vertically-adjustable board arranged parallel therewith, the swinging stop-blocks connected with the base and adjustable board, a pawl carried by said blocks and adjustable at one end vertically thereon, and a rack with which the pawl engages to retain the adjustable board at any desired elevation, substan-. tially as described, for the purpose set forth.

3. As a new article of manufacture, an arm-rest consisting, essentially, of a' base, a

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IIS

i l I i i l vertically-adjustable board, the swinging In testimony that I claim the foregoing as ro stop-blocks hinged to the base and the admy own I have hereto axed my signaturein justable board, a foldable leaf, I, pivoted to presence of two witnesses.

the adjustable board near one end, a stop-pin afXed to the board and arranged in the path of the leaf to limit the inward movement thereof, a ratchet, and a pivoted pawl on one of the stop-blocks, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

EDVARD ALBERT BENNETT.

Witnesses:

W. G. HARRISON, J. E. CONNELLY. 

